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Sunday, August 30, 2015

Wandering around Phutthamonthon

I wish that I could do this location justice. From my limited knowledge and the sheer expanse of the park, I will do my best, but I know I will not be able to come close to explaining just how amazing this place truly looks and feels.

Phutthamonthon is an expansive park that is situated a few kilometers from my house in Salaya, Thailand. It was built sometime in the 1950's, during the Buddhist year of 2500. Because everyone loves number play, the park is 2500 rai (unit of area measurement of about 40m by 40m). This translates into about 4 square kilometers.

A.K.A. Huge.

I was able to explore the middle and one corner of it over the course of a few hours of walking today. It is teeming with birds, winding paths, gazebos, monitor lizards, and fish. It resembles any Asian themed garden, just on a scale that I never knew was possible. Seriously, it is that big.

The main feature is the large Buddha at the center of the park. I went fairly early on the weekend so I was able to see it without many people wandering around.

This family had a very young child with them and were teaching her how to kneel and pray. It was very cute. She would copy what they did, and then immediately run off and play. They would chase her down and repeat the process. Very fun to watch.

The park itself must have countless meandering paths in it, which take you along beautiful canals and lead to some amazingly scenic places.

The canals are rather pretty themselves and are teeming with fish. You can purchase bread bits or bags of fish food and sit and feed the fish all afternoon. The above picture is what the larger canals with these fish look like, but the below picture is more of what the smaller criss-crossing canals are like that dot and cross the park.

If you ever happen to be in the area, this place is definitely a great location to spend the day and find a shady spot in which to nap or read.